The MMA Lab stalwart marched into his 170-pound title bout against
Andrey
Koreshkov as a significant favorite, but he left Bellator 153 a
humbled man after a lopsided decision loss to the Russian
champion.

Fortunately for Henderson, he has proven to be a versatile and
resilient competitor, and he will have another golden opportunity
on Friday in his old 155-pound stomping grounds when he locks horns
with Patricio
Freire in the
Bellator 160 headliner. At stake is a lightweight title shot
against current kingpin Michael
Chandler.

Henderson recently told Sherdog.com that he was presented the
option of waiting for Chandler to heal from a broken hand, but
“Smooth” preferred to stay active.

“I have a pretty short window of opportunity in which to pursue my
career….So I want to take advantage of that,” he said. “I want to
fight as much as possible. Chandler was hurt. Josh Thomson
had concussion problems. They said, ‘Do you want to wait around for
Chandler to heal up?’ I was like, ‘Come on man, you already know
the answer to that question.’”

Freire, the ex-featherweight champion, would seem to be an unlikely
opponent considering he has spent his entire promotional tenure at
145 pounds and still has designs on reclaiming the title he
recently lost to Daniel
Straus. However, Freire also wants to get his hands on Chandler
after the two men engaged in a post-fight shouting match when the
champion knocked out the Brazilian’s brother, Patricky, at Bellator
157.

“They asked him, and I think they said he said no at first. He
was a little bit leery but then they sweetened up the pot. They
told him that I would probably get a title shot after winning.
[Bellator told Freire] If you take the fight and you win you get a
title shot if you win,” Henderson said. “That’s ultimately what
sold him on the idea of squaring off against me.”

While Henderson struggled against the larger Koreshkov, he will
have a size and reach advantage against Freire come fight night.
According to Henderson, strength isn’t really the issue at
welterweight; it’s the range and reach that caused him
problems.

“I think I’m a little bit stronger than some of the other guys, but
it’s pretty small, negligible amount the strength difference [at
lightweight],” he said. “I think a bigger difference is the reach.
I think it’s a huge difference of reach and whether your opponent
has plus five inches on you or whether you have plus three inches
on your opponent. I think that’s a big deal.

“My fight against Andrey I think he did a great job using his
reach. That’s one of the best things he did….Against Patricio I
think I’ll have the reach advantage and definitely the height
advantage. That will play a factor into the fight for sure.”

Despite those initial struggles against Koreshkov, Henderson has
experienced success at 170 pounds before, earning victories against
Jorge
Masvidal and Brandon
Thatch in his final two Octagon appearances. And he isn’t
ruling out a return to welterweight in Bellator if the right
opportunity arises.

“Bellator signed me for big fights. Whether it’s big fights at 155
or big fights at 170, that’s what I’m here for,” Henderson said.
“And I think if they were to offer me a contract to go against
Andrey tomorrow at 170 for five rounds, no problem. Done. Sign me
up. I think as a professional athlete you have to the utmost
confidence in yourself. I got my butt kicked in the last fight.
Andrey did a great job, but if we were to face off against each
other again there is no doubt in my mind I would leave the cage
with my hand raised. That’s just the nature of sport.”